Family Court Justice Harvey Brownstone Reflects on Changes, Issues, and Trends on Divorce in the Last 15 Years

Our Interview with Justice Harvey Brownstone

DM: Justice Brownstone, from your perspective on the bench, what divorce issues have changed the most over the last 15 years?

JB: There are three things that have changed the most in the past 15 years. They are the Internet, the Internet, and the Internet! Judges have witnessed a complete revolution in both the composition and, unfortunately, the decomposition of relationships because of the Internet. And this has led to an avalanche of failed relationships that the court system must somehow deal with. And when I say avalanche I’m not exaggerating. It’s truly an avalanche. There’s no other way to describe it.

DM: How has the Internet helped create this avalanche?

JB: For starters, the problem today is that the Internet makes it so easy for people to meet and convince themselves that they’re madly, deeply in love. Of course most of them aren’t in love. They’re infatuated, excited, and swept up in the fantasy. They can pretend to be someone they aren’t, and they can just as easily be vulnerable to someone else’s deception...